With poor public transport and jammed roads, cars are a status symbol in Brazil – and the more powerful, the better. And with 46 million cars, there's nearly one for every four people. But why do people dream of buying a SUV if they'll only drive it to the shop round the corner?

In the megalopolis of São Paulo, the preferred method of transport is the car – there are more than 5.6 million on the city’s roads. Calls for more cycle lanes have provoked bitter rows both in the streets and in the courts, but start-up Ciclomidia is defying this resistance, carving out a bigger space for cyclists.

Bus stops that don’t indicate where buses actually stop may sound as useful as a chocolate teapot, but in Brazil thousands of bus stops lack this vital signage. The answer to the problem wasn't solved by the government, but by a project that started with a pack of stickers.

Previously considered a digital blackspot, Brazil is rapidly gaining a reputation as South America's most social media-savvy country. Responding to the shift, telecoms company Claro is offering free access to Twitter.